Barbara Kreisman

Professor Emerita, Affiliated Faculty, Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging, Ritchie School of Engineering, University of Denver

Dr. Kreisman’s background transcends multiple years in the field of Leadership, Organizational Development and Strategic Planning.  She has over 30 years of experience in the high-tech environment with such organizations as Dell Technologies; Emerson Electric (Fisher Controls, subsidiary); and Motorola Semiconductor Sector.  She helped each of these organizations grow, transform and become future-ready.

Her academic achievements consist of a Ph.D. in Leadership & Organizational Behavior from the University of Texas at Austin; a master’s degree in Human Resource development from the University of Texas at Austin, and a second interdisciplinary graduate degree in Business and Career Counseling from Arizona State University.  Barb’s dissertation was a case study on Dell and its high turnover of technical talent.

After completion of her PhD, Barb left the corporate “world” to take on a role as a Professor of Practice at the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business where she was promoted to Assistant, then Associate Dean, responsible for the Executive MBA, Professional MBA and all Executive Education Program offerings. During Barb’s tenure, the Executive MBA Program she led was ranked internationally by the Financial Times five years consecutively.

As an Emerita Professor, Barb now holds a faculty position in the University of Denver’s Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging where she has been responsible for the design and launch of a program entitled Retirement Journeys and New Horizons.  She is also a guest faculty member for the Modern Elder Academy, a “wisdom school” launched in Baja, Mexico by author and entrepreneur Chip Conley.

Barb has become heavily engaged with the non-profit community and served as Board Chair for Wish of a Lifetime during its acquisition by AARP.  She is a Trustee of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and is on the Advisory Board for DU’s Graduate School of Social Work. Barb has been a long time Board Member for the Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado (ULFC) which focuses on leadership development for persons of color.  In June of 2020, Barb also became a member of the International Women’s Leadership Forum (IWF) and serves on the Colorado Business Roundtable Purpose and Profits committee. She was a founding member of the Latino Leadership Institute Board of Directors and worked closely with former Denver Mayor and US Department of Transportation Secretary Federico Pena on this initiative.